"VENDORS FORE EDUCATION" GOLF TOURNAMENT TO RAISE RETAIL SCHOLARSHIP FUNDS

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - The "Vendors FORE Education" golf tournament, sponsored by Wal-Mart vendors, will be held on Friday, July 18, 2003 at Stonebridge Meadows Golf Course, Springdale. The awards luncheon will be held from 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and is open to the press. There will be photo and interview opportunities.

The "Vendors FORE Education" will donate over $4,000 for student scholarships in the Center for Retailing Excellence, Sam M. Walton College of Business, University of Arkansas

Thirty teams are scheduled to participate in the four-man scramble. Prizes, donated by many of the vendors, will be awarded to the top teams and to the closest to the pin, longest drive and straightest drive.

Mobley said, "This group has been holding the golf tournament for six years. This is the second year they have contributed the proceeds to a charity, and they plan to continue to sponsor the scholarship from now on."

The Center for Retailing Excellence was established in the Walton College in 1998 with a portion of the $50 million endowment from the Walton Family Charitable Support Foundation Inc. The Center was created to bridge the gap between university faculty, students and the retail industry. Members of the Center's executive board include representatives from ACNielsen; Bridgestone/Firestone; Bristol-Myers Squibb; Coca-Cola; ConAgra Frozen Foods; Crossmark Inc; Energizer; Fortune Casuals; Frito-Lay; General Mills Inc.; Information Resources Inc.; Nice-Pak Products Inc., Pepsi-Cola Company; Quaker Oats and Beverage Company; Sun Microsystems, The Scotts Company; J. M. Smucker Co., Sunbeam; ThompsonMurray; Spectra; VF Jeanswear; Walgreens; and Wal-Mart Stores Inc.

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Claudia Mobley, managing director, Center for Retailing Excellence, Sam M. Walton College of Business, (479) 575-2643, cmobley@walton.uark.edu

Dixie Kline, director of communications, Sam M. Walton College of Business, (479) 575-2539, dkline@walton.uark.edu